CEO leaves struggling Broadwind Energy

Broadwind Energy, a manufacturer of wind towers and gears, is getting a new CEO as it tries to achieve a basic but elusive goal: profit.

Cicero-based Broadwind said in a statement this evening that Peter Duprey, its chief executive for the past five years, has left the firm, effective immediately. The company's board of directors promoted Stephanie Kushner to interim CEO, from executive vice president and chief financial officer, while it conducts a search for a permanent replacement.

Since going public about six years ago, Broadwind has yet to turn an annual profit, a reality that has sent its stock price tumbling. The stock closed at $1.94 per share on Nov. 30, down 71 percent over the past year.

Making money probably won't be in the cards for Broadwind in 2015, either. The company reported a net loss of more than $11 million on $161.6 million in sales through the first nine months of the year, according to a statement announcing its third-quarter financial results.

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Crain's

Broadwind Energy's Cicero facility.

The company struggled with steel quality issues and supply-chain issues related to the West Coast port slowdown earlier this year, Duprey said during an October investor call, according to a transcript from Bloomberg. All wind-related companies, he added, face uncertainty because the future of a federal tax credit that incentivizes wind production is in question.

A Broadwind spokeswoman didn't immediately return a phone call. In its statement, David Reiland, chairman of the company's board, lauded Duprey's tenure. The statement added that he left to "pursue other opportunities."

"During Pete's five years at Broadwind, he has demonstrated a keen understanding of the wind energy industry and shown sound strategic acumen," Reiland said. "We thank him for his contributions and wish him the best with his future endeavors."

As of December, Broadwind had 857 employees working at gear factories in Cicero and Neville Island, Pa., as well as at wind tower facilities in Manitowoc, Wis., and Abilene, Texas.